Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Eastern Highlands women farmers attract interest in city

A
group of women from the Eastern Highlands province are happy that their recent
trip to Port Moresby
has been beneficial.

The
18 women, mostly farmers and agricultural officers, participated at the
floriculture show held during the independence anniversary celebrations.

The
women, members of the Eastern Highlands Women in Agriculture Association,
brought with them a wide range of floriculture products and fresh produce for
display such as cabbages, tomatoes and carrots.

The
different types of cut flowers attracted a great deal of interest at the
four-day show held at the Waigani Arts Theatre.

Association
vice-president Jennifer Kena said the women paid for the trip themselves but
the experience they gained was worthwhile and they were looking forward to next
year’s show. However, the women felt that the venue should be moved to a more
central location to enable more visitors to participate.

The
EHP women took out the first prize for the best floral arrangements and second
prize for provincial participation.

Kena
said eight provincial DAL staff and 10 farmers undertook the trip to learn more
about marketing of floriculture and fresh produce and to seek potential buyers.

They
were keen to share their ideas and experiences with other farmers and
agriculture staff. They described the trip as a big success.

The
EHP provincial food crops officer, Daisy Kiniafa, said the women brought
limited supplies but found out that there was a huge demand during the show.

She
said the women were so overwhelmed that they found it hard to price their
goods.

“We
learnt that there was a demand for cut flowers in the city,” Kiniafa said.

“The
little we brought for display was sold out and we got many requests for new
orders which we are working on after we returned home.”

Kiniafa
said Chinese embassy staff were among the customers who showed great interest
and had requested for a weekly supply of cut flowers.

She
said the women’s group was becoming more organised and promoting and
encouraging more women to be actively involved in agriculture.

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